Abducted and detained Saudi Princess Basmah made contact with the outside world for the first time in a year, only to have the call cut when she mentioned a will

• Princess Basmah was abducted in February 2019 and has been detained in a Saudi prison ever since.
• Her communications were cut in April 2020 after she begged the crown prince, her cousin, for mercy.
• Her family has now heard from her, but the call was cut when she brought up a will, sources said.

Last week, for the first time in over a year, Princess Basmah bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a Saudi royal who was abducted and detained in 2019, made contact with the outside world, two sources told Insider.

The princess and her daughter Souhoud al-Sharif were seized from their Jeddah apartment by Saudi state security agents on February 28, 2019, and taken to al-Ha'ir prison, near Riyadh, where they have remained.

In al-Ha'ir, the princess was permitted to contact her family by phone, but in April 2020, all of her communications were cut after she used Twitter to beg Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, her cousin, for mercy.

But last week, the princess made contact with her family in Jeddah, bringing to an end a year without news of her well-being. Basmah has colonic and heart issues, as well as osteoporosis, and her family has for years been concerned about her health.

On May 13, Basmah called her son Ahmed al-Sharif from al-Ha'ir prison, a business associate and a close family member of the princess separately told Insider. Both people asked to be anonymous to avoid retribution, but their identities are known to Insider.

The conversation was cut off shortly after Basmah mentioned that she had drawn up a will, the business associate told Insider, which the family member confirmed. The line cut off before Basmah could say what the will contained, the associate said.

"She was more than done, she was too sick, too fed up with all of that, and it was a very serious, concerning call because she is a very strong person," the family member said. "It's a triggering and a serious thing, and a worry."

Basmah's family said she is in dire need of medical care, and that the doctors tasked with helping her in al-Ha'ir are ill equipped to do so. "Basmah's health situation is in a very critical state," the family member said.

It was initially believed that Saudi authorities had detained Basmah because they believed she was trying to flee the country under the guise of seeking urgent medical care in Switzerland.

But her family previously told Insider that they believed her detention was instead linked to her claim to part of a multibillion-euro inheritance left by her father, King Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the second ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Insider contacted the Saudi embassy in Washington, DC, and the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology for comment.

Read more: A Saudi princess, silenced

'We're just waiting for actions to be taken'

Basmah's family said their attempts to contact Saudi authorities for answers have been routinely dismissed.

"They always say the same thing: that there's no comment and no response," the family member said.

The princess has not been charged with a crime, and her family is calling on President Joe Biden's administration to intervene on her behalf.

"We've had a response back from them," the family member said of the Biden administration. "Now we're just waiting for actions to be taken, as from the beginning it's all been talk, talk, talk, talk."

Henri Estramant, a legal advisor to Basmah, said: "We are not seeking a regime change, but rather the support of the Biden administration for the prevalence of the rule of law in Saudi Arabia."

He continued, "According to the latter the princess should already be free, for no trial ever convened."